For Thanksgiving: Daniel Boulud's Chestnut Soup

I know just how hard it can be to change even one dish on any family's traditional Thanksgiving menu - it took me years to get rid of our dread stringbean-swiss cheese-cornflake-topped casserole even though no one really wanted to eat it anymore.  Traditions can be like that.  So, knowing that, I wouldn't dare suggest that you give up whatever soup you normally make for the holiday and turn to this one, but if you're undecided in the soup department, here's a winner.

As soon as I tasted this soup - which would have been in 1998 when I was working with Daniel Boulud on The Cafe Boulud Cookbook - I knew it was going to knock my traditional carrot soup off the T-day menu. 

The soup is a mix of chestnuts (I used jarred chestnuts), celery root and apple.  It's a great combination and it can be served as is or it can be dressed up with a few add-ins.  Daniel suggests some shredded duck confit, thin strips of prosciutto, sliced truffles or cubes of foie gras, but some nice little croutons tossed with minced thyme would be good too. 

If you don't have room for this soup on Thursday's menu, hold onto the recipe - Christmas and New Year's Eve are just around the proverbial corner. 

Chestnut, Celery Root and Apple Soup

from The Cafe Boulud Cookbook

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 medium leek, white part only, thinly sliced, washed and dried

2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

10 ounces celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

3/4 pound peeled fresh chestnuts (from about 1 1/4 pounds chestnuts in the shell) or dry-packed bottled or vacuum-sealed peeled chestnuts

2 quarts chicken stock or store-bought chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a stockpot or large casserole over medium heat.  Add the onion, leek, apples, celery root, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and leeks are soft but not colored.  Add the chestnuts and chicken stock and bring to the boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, skimming the surface regularly, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chestnuts can be mashed easily with a fork.  Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more, then remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf and thyme.

Puree the soup until smooth using a blender or a food processor, and working in batches if necessary, then pass it through a fine-mesh strainer.  You should have about 2 quarts soup.  If you have more, or if you think the soup is too thin -- it should have the consistency of a veloute or light cream soup - simmer it over medium heat until slightly thickened.  Taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning.  (The soup can be cooled completely and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to one month.  Bring the soup to a boil before serving.)

Comments

[Julie]

I keep a running list of recipes I want to try and this recipe has been on my list for a couple of months now. It hasn't made it to the top of the list yet but I'm newly inspired by this recommendation. Plus, I've only just recently tasted celeriac for the first time and I love it which makes me all the more anxious to try this.

The Cafe Boulud Cookbook is terrific -- lots of great inspiration. I particularly liked the lemon raspberry tart recipe which I made several times this past summer.

[Dominic]

Dorie,

Every single recipe was a huge hit. The soup made chestnut converts out of those in my family who swore they hated them. The baked goods (pumpkin and pecan pies and cranberry upside-downer) were all complemented with "this is the best ________ ever...where did you get the recipe?" I was happy to give you all the credit :-)

Thanks for sharing yourself on here,

Dominic
the zen kitchen

Maria, you just made me laugh. I'm glad you and your dining partner liked the soup, but you're right -- it's not much in the looks department. I think fried sage, as you suggested, would be really nice with it. In the end, what I did was not add the cream to the soup while it was cooking, but, instead, I poured a little cream into the center of each bowl at serving time. What's funny is that one of our friends looked at the very brown soup and said, "I love the way the soup looks -- so much like the season."

[Maria]

A really great soup. My dining partner said something along the lines of "complex but not daunting." Just a great interplay of flavors. I'm still musing about the garnish though. It got late here and I skipped it. I have to say the soup tasted amazing but looked a little like dirty dishwater. What did *you* garnish it with? Do you think a little fried sage would work?

[Dorie]

Jeannette, you're right -- it would be tough to cut ribs of celery into cubes. It's celeriac that you want.

[Jeannette Mara]

As we all know by now, UK and US have different names for some things, I am not familiar with celery root, is this what we call celery, or is it celeriac? I can't imagine cutting celery into cubes, somehow.

[Dominic]

Dorie,

Thanks for the link and for the weight of "your" cup of flour! I've already scribbled "1 cup flour = 4.8 ounces" in the front of the book :-)

I understand that people may be a little freaked out by seeing weights in their baking recipes, but I wonder why editors won't embrace the best of both worlds and include a page where weight measurements are included for those of us who wouldn't mind doing the calculations?

My best to you and yours this Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Dominic

[Karen]

It can be so, so hard to erase those old "favorites". But I say, in with the new! I love that we usually have a small Thanksgiving dinner - just four of us, and half of them little ones, so I'm free to play with the menu each year.

I've flagged this soup recipe - I have some vacuum-packed chestnuts that need to be made delicious!

Enjoy the day...

[Dorie]

Dominic, I'm so delighted to hear that my recipes will be part of your Thanksgiving. Actually, I'm making the sour cream pumpkin pie (as a tart) and the pecan pie, too.

About measurements -- there's a long discussion about weights and metrics and why I didn't/couldn't use them on egullet, where there's a year-long thread about Baking From My Home to Yours

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=92574&st=0

You're right, I use the dip-and-sweep method for flour, so I get a "heavy" cup.
1 cup all-purpose flour = 4.8 ounces.

I hope this helps. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[Dominic]

Dorie -- Thanks for the recipe! The soup part of the meal was still up in the air, but you came to the rescue :-)

Also, I'll be making three recipes from your book, Baking, for dessert (the sour cream pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and cranberry upside-downer).

One question -- why didn't you include weights for flour, etc. in your book? If you don't mind, do you have a standard weight for your cup of flour? I know you mentioned using the dip and sweep method, but I am a little obsessed with precision!

Thanks,

Dominic
the zen kitchen

[Dorie]

I've got years and years of experience with one particular picky eater and here's the good news - he's finally come around and he doesn't just eat this soup now, he likes it! I always think of the adage: Perseverance brings good fortune. In this case, it brought good taste.

I hope you and your family will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm sure it will be delicious - with or without this soup.

[Casey]

Two of my picky-eater Tgiving guests wouldn't touch that soup, but I'm definitely going to make it for my husband and me. Sounds fabulous. And: Happy Thanksgiving!